1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to television receivers and in particular to a method and apparatus for replaying a previously displayed picture in picture in picture (PIP) form.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Instant replay enables a viewer to rewatch a portion of a television program which the viewer may have missed the first time, or as in the case of sporting events, which the viewer wishes to see again for closer study. U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,320 discloses a television receiver which permits the viewer to play back audio and video information which was previously broadcast. The information is digitized, compressed, and provided to a cyclic storage device for continuously storing the compressed information last output by the compressor over a predetermined time interval. This information is then decompressed at a later time for viewing. The instant replay of U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,320 stores a compressed version of the entire received video and audio which is replayed on the main television display rather than in the PIP display. The type of compression used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,320, although not fully disclosed, must maintain substantially all of the detail of the main picture to provide enough resolution for display on the main television display and retain accurate audio information. Such compression and decompression techniques which maintain substantially all of the detail of the received information are expensive processes for providing instant replay.